Hanoi (VNA) –
Only five of 35 planned mineral resources maps have been completed, making it
challenging for the government to reach its 2020 deadline for completing the
map projects, officials have said.
The Party Central Committee’s
Economic Commission (CEC) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
(MoNRE) discussed the progress on the maps at a recent meeting titled
“Evaluation of five-year- implementation of guidelines, policies and
legislation on minerals”.
The mapping of mineral
resources over a total area of 62,380 sq.km, divided into 35 projects, is
supposed to be completed by 2020. Fourteen projects over an area of 14,500 sq.km
area were begun in 2016 and are still underway, while seven others accounting
for 18,124 sq.km are behind the schedule.
If the continuing projects
are completed on schedule, by 2020, 80 percent of Vietnam’s land will be
presented on mineral resources maps.
Moreover, the geological
and mineral surveys of the coastal area up to 30 metres of water depth are
almost completed.
Only two surveys of coastal
areas are being conducted. The surveyed areas are the coasts between Hai Phong city and Thanh Hoa province’s
Nga Son district, and between Nga Son district and Nghe An province’s Dien Chau
district.
In addition, 3,000
individuals and organisations are being allowed to explore and mine minerals,
according to the MoNRE’s data.
Speaking at the meeting,
Cao Duc Phat, deputy head of CEC, said that after five years of guidelines,
policies and legislation on minerals, the status quo has several major
disadvantages. To effectively manage the mineral resources, it is important to
adjust some provisions in the mineral law to align with common world practice.
Representatives of related
agencies also need to initiate solutions to effectively manage, protect, and
explore minerals for the sustainable development of Vietnam, he said.-VNA